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Frogs Gone Fishin', a Vail- and Denver-based funk/jam/rock band wants to collaborate with you on their most ambitious and creative undertaking yet.

The group initiated its first-ever Kickstarter campaign this week to help fund an upcoming studio album, "Back to the Hills," which will coincide will an all-new live performing platform, they hope.

The Frogs must reach a pledged goal of $7,500 by Nov. 10.

Kickstarter is a funding mechanism for creative projects. Every project creator sets their project's funding goal and deadline. If people like the project, they can pledge money to make it happen. If the project succeeds in reaching its funding goal, all backers' credit cards are charged when time expires. If the project falls short, no one is charged.

The band is playing an acoustic show in support of the initiative tonight at Main St. Grill in Edwards. The show is free and begins at 10 p.m.

"Not only will you be contributing to the band's success, but we'll send you all kinds of really cool stuff, from pre-release recordings, shirts and tickets to private shows, a recording session or even an all-expense-paid vacation with Frogs," said guitarist Andrew Portwood.

"Over the past six years, we've had some incredible experiences and opportunities - sharing the stage with members of the Grateful Dead, Galactic, Parliament Funkadelic and others, playing festivals and great shows all around the country," Portwood continued.

Frogs Gone Fishin' was nominated for Denver's Best Jam Band of both 2011 and 2012 by Denver-based Westword Magazine, and the group recently added four new full-time members, Alex Scott (bass), Jeff Jani (drums), Mark Hanson (saxophone) and Mike Eisenberg (trombone).

"We are incredibly excited to explore the new dimensions of our sound," said lead guitarist Trevor Jones. "We feel that we are ready to take Frogs up to a whole new level with a project we call 'Back to the Hills.'"

"Back to the Hills" is more than a record, says the band. They envision a live, multimedia experience, performed over the course of an hour or more, incorporating intense lighting, optical effects and crowd participation in imaginative new ways for a dynamic and entertaining show.

Since the release of Frogs' sophomore effort "Actual Natural" in 2009, the band has been on the road, writing new material.

"Our goal with 'Back to the Hills' is to create a concert experience that is cutting-edge, but also draws from epic 1970s psychedelic arena shows of bands like Pink Floyd and Journey," said Portwood. "While there are plenty of modern bands that do this, they are almost entirely held in huge, impersonal venues, and for many parts of the country these shows are very rare."

And they want their fans involved - from helping choose effects, color schemes and equipment to providing feedback and ideas for crowd participation. "We want all of our backers, no matter how small, to have a voice in the finished show," Jones said.